The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1887-04-14
TIMELY TOPICS FOR FARMERS.
HOW TO Do PAYING WORK AT THIS
SEASON.
Suggestions of Interest, from an Authori.
tative Source.

The farmers campaign is now fairly
begun. His plans have been ere this
fully maturcd. 70 execute them is now
the matter Of supreme Importance. How
often failure comes just at this point!
Men who can tell you just how q thing
should be done frequently lack the
capacity to do it themselves or have
others do it under their direction. The
thing called Executive power" how
reaching and important in every
avocation How indispensable TO the
farmer! He must manage luGorors,
stock, machines, manures, soils, crops of
various kinds; he must fight cold, heat,
storms, rains, floods, drought, insects,
blights, rusts, mildews and blasts. A
great many distinct things must be made
to work together for given end. How
multifarious the operations which finally
terminate in n bale Of cotton or a bushel
of corn! ALdyet wenro told thus any man
can be farmer. Yes, any one can put
seeds in the ground, any one can hoe
grass, any ono can walk behind plow-
but is that all? When to plant, how to
plant, what to plant; when to plow, how
to plow. What breadth Of knowledge,
what discriminating Judgment do these
demand! Let the youths who Lack these
quantities go to The cities; tho country
has no place for them.
But TO matters now directly in hand.
The planting of the cotton crop con-
fronts us-shall it be early or late?
Opinions differ. Who're experience fails
to decide we can only appeal 10 general
principles. 1t is quite certain that plants
have some degree OF plaStiCity-that
they are mo0iiied to &omc extent by
climatic conditions. Seed OF carly corn
from the North, planted III thc South for
several years, without fresh imDOrtn-
ton, acquires q later habit OF l0atiring.
How is this? Tho plant cannot Do con
ceived OF as having an jntelii2cuce which
enables it TO anticipate the Greater lcngth
OF our seasons and regulate It's Growth
accordingly; and yet it behaves lust as
if it had such intelligence. Again, our
native corn, planted very early in the
spring, tends to produce smaller stalks
but larger ears than that plun!cj lnto in
the season. May not Il similar tendency
develop i'll carly-plantcd cotton? Yhc
cold OF early spring chills this tropical
y,
Threat of determination uiwi;j% Qyickcns
the reproductive processes IN Diunt...
The little coclilc-Durr which Cumc3 u
late in summer, even though il does no!
Srow more than six inches hiwh, viii
have bloom and mabIrG q sect. In the
tropics cotton grows almost into q tree,
but produces little fruit; III trmLcrata
zones it is dwarfed in size, b;t& Increased
IN fruitfulnGss. Nay it not be hat the
Ginning it gets Ill early sPriuy prctiis-
poses 1t to truitfulneSs? 1t would seem
that young plants very sCOD GN the style
OF growth they are 10 keep up duIiug
the season. If they start out 10 make u
large, luXurlant stalk they seem to strive
to carry it out to the end.
Our individual experience hl3 been in
favor OF early-plantGd cotton. 1t does
not grow Off quite as well, ami i8 consc-
quontly somewhat harder to work, But
fruits better, opens early and can be
housed and sold carly III tho season.
Then, again, carly planting is more apt
to bring good stands, tor there is then
usually enough moisture III the soil to
still bring the plants up; later it is apt to
be too dry. After trying "pluutcrs" and
other modern modes OF planting cotton,
we have gone back to the old-timo
method OF covering seed with i good list
Dy doublc-toot plOW and either knock
ing OIL with board or leYeling down
with harrow. Cotton SEED will not
como up through a thick covering OF
earth, but they will sprout and get
ready to come up when thus covered,
ano Will appear above the surface
promptly when the supcrliuOus dirt is
removed by board or harrow. Bear in
mind, tins knocking OFF or narrowing is
not labor lost; 1t Is really equivalent TO
tlrst working. For two years we have
tired the broadcast narrowing of cotton
with smoothing harrow. 1t was done
the first time just as the cotton began to
como up. The harrow Was run Obliuuely
across the rows. About n week later il
was run again at right angles TO the first.
1t may be run squ0rcly across tho rows,
but never up and down thCm, for in the
lattor case it would almost certainly in
juro the stand. Whore the land was
clean and free from distractions the
work was very satisfactory; even where
land was not perfectly clean, the stand
was not much injured. Ii 40 rain has
fallen since the soil was stil8cd by the
plow, the harrow tends to run 100 deep;
where the soil is crusted it works finely.
If one does not use Il harrow the
scrape should be started just rs soon as
the first cotton makes its appearance.
The wing next the cotton should be set
perfectly flat and tho cotton sided 50
closely that the two furrows almost
meet Very little dirt will be thrown on
the young cotton, and even ii somc is it
VIII not interfere seriously with It's
coming up. Should the ground be
cfusted' the crust will be broken; more
over tho grass which usually comes up
with tho cotton will be killed. Nothing
contributes more to the easy, pleasant
working OF cotton crop than to bcgin
Plowlng 1t early and plowing it often in
the early stages of growth. We rcmcr-
ally leave too much for the hoe 70 do
by running the plow early, propcrIy
and ofton the hoe-work may be % ereoiiS
reduced. Ono thing is very cIeoT. tb6t
unless the cost Of production can be re, ~.
duced there will be very little profit IN
cotton at present prices.
AS soon as cotton-planting is finished
early-planted corn will be ready for It's
first working. If planted in Water-fur.
l., 4.